Well, I have time, I can tell you EVERYTHING I have learned from being in Germany:

1. The bakeries are to DIE for!
2. The deli's are to DIE for!
C. The Bier is to DIE for!
4. The locals will stop their car right in the middle of the street and begin carrying on a conversation. Move it mate! I'm headed to the pub!
5. Bier wenches can carry up to 10 - one liter mugs at once.
6. The pretzels at Hofbrauhaus are to DIE for!
G. The Hofbrauhaus tap beer is the best beer in the world, hands down.
8. You will never sit at your own table in Germany.
9. There are windows in the showers at the school I stayed at which are low enough for lots of 10 year old kids to look in.
10. Stay out of the left lane on the Autobahn, even if you are doing 140mph. Someone will pass you.
11. Zwei bier, bitte!

For e.g, in Oz, we walk up to a shop counter and stand around wherever we want and exepct to be served in order of arrival. In Germany, you must line up in an orderly fashion or be glared at like you just killed a puppy.

But the "rules" make driving on the autobahns SHEER HEAVEN. Oh to be free of ridiculous nanny-state speed limits!

I have no objections to doing 30mph in the built-up areas, because you can let loose on the 'bahns. We did Munich to Dresden in just over 3 hours, 420kms. And the drivers are actually capable and alert. Sheer utopian bliss.

Yes, the german pastries are delish. I even remember the name of my favourite- Kurtzkrundel. It's like a Danish, but tastes like a pastry cheesecake.

Memories. All good.

(11-16-2011, 04:48 PM)Ernesto Wrote: I like Brats. But they have to be boiled in beer first, then thrown on the Bar-bi

Hey, my kids behave badly too but that's no reason to...

OH, you mean bratwurst!

Me too . The resulting heartburn is TOTALLY worth it.

The problem with socialism is that you soon run out of other people's money.
- Margaret Thatcher

We like cheese. It's just a way of life for us I guess, we've always had it.

Back in the early 80's a mate of mine was in the Navy training porpoises to attach bombs to ships (and you thought YOU have a cool job... ) and I went to visit him in San Diego.

He dove the night before and gathered two gunny sacks of lobster, I brought along a suitcase full of bratwurst and we went to the beach for a grill out party.

His Navy mates were a blast to hang out with, and we partied all day and into the night with music and drinks, and we grilled the fresh lobster and brats. Everyone was intrigued how I boiled the brats in beer and onions ahead of time, then grilled them, then returned them to the beer to keep hot. They had never seen brats, and they loved them.

I ended up gorging myself on fresh lobster with butter, and they ate the brats. Back then you couldn't really get bratwurst west of the Mississippi. Or Brandy. Or Colby cheese.